Theo.do.lites A contemporary video and visual art exhibition

 

(PARIS, March 2013) – The Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (ICAS) in cooperation with curators Silke Schmickl of Lowave and Kent Chan of Locale, will open the first of a tri-site video and visual art exhibition, Theo.do.lites, 7pm on 17 April – on view until 12 May – at Lasalle College of the Arts, ICAS Gallery 1 in the presence of curators and participating artists including local artists Debbie Ding, Charles Lim and Tan Pin Pin.  Theo.do.lites is an exhibition examining the project of modernity through artistic explorations of site-specific urban and rural realities in Asia and Europe, in the context of their conjoined yet deferred histories.

 

If studies in city cultures often exhibit a critical nostalgia for an urban formation from the earlier stages of heroic modernity, we witness today a shift, revealing a sense of loss towards the promise of a vibrant future once offered by these early  prototypical  modernist  cities.  Rather than occupying  the  forefront  of  global developments, these cities are instead fast becoming a part of history. The works from Europe turn its eyes away from urban spaces towards unoccupied landscapes, reflecting a sense of disillusionment or a quest of a new spirituality. At the same time, works from Asia convey a suspicion towards its rapid urbanization in recent years, skeptical towards an idea of modernity that was never its own.Theo.do.lites  reflects  on  these  changes  and  proposes  alternative  strategies  in  moving  forward.  With an emphasis on moving images without being limited to it, this exhibition presents the work of 14 contemporary artists from both continents and will offer a new appreciation of creative documentary aesthetics.

 

Exhibiting  artists:  Apichatpong  Weerasethakul, Raqs  Media  Collective,  Uriel  Orlow,  Alexander  Schellow, Charles Lim, Romain Kronenberg & Benjamin Graindorge, Marylène Negro, Tan Pin Pin, Daniel Hui, Masayo Kajimura, Massimilian & Nina Breeder, and Debbie Ding.

Curators Silke Schmickl and Kent Chan give a tour on the 24 April (3-4pm) while artists Romain Kronenberg, Alexander Schellow, Marylène Negro and Masayo Kajimura will give a series of artist talks.

The second and third editions of the exhibition is will take place in France and Germany later in the year.